Cricket: Bangladesh team narrowly avoid mosque shooting, test called off

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – The Bangladesh cricket team narrowly avoided being caught up in a shooting at a mosque in Christchurch on Friday that left 30 dead and forced the cancellation of a test match against hosts New Zealand.

At least one gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 20 during Friday prayers at two New Zealand mosques in the country’s worst ever mass shooting which Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern condemned as “a terrorist attack”.

The team were on a bus that was approaching the Al Noor mosque on the eve of the third test at nearby Hagley Oval when the shooting began.

Mario Villavarayen, the team’s strength and conditioning coach, said it had been a close call.

“They were on the bus, which was just pulling up to the mosque when the shooting begun,” he told Reuters via Twitter.

“They are at the ground, they are shaken but good.”

The team were pictured on social media walking back through Hagley Park to the cricket ground and a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) spokesman later told Reuters the team were in lockdown at their hotel.

“All our players are now safe in their hotel which has been cordoned off,” the spokesman said. “We have advised the players not to step out.

“Importantly, our players are safe.”

BCB President Nazmul Hassan later told reporters in Dhaka that the team would now demand better security on all of their overseas tours.

“When any foreign team comes to our country, we always ensure proper security,” Hassan said. “To be honest, New Zealand is such a country that no one expects such kind of incident there.

“We’ll demand proper security wherever our team goes in future. If a country provides proper security as per our demand, then we will go, otherwise not.

“I can say that everything will change after this incident. We will set a plan from now on to ensure proper security when our team will be on tour in future.”

TOUR CANCELED

New Zealand Cricket said they had chosen to cancel the test, which was the final match of the tour, after discussions with the BCB.

“I spoke to my counterpart in Bangladesh and we agree it’s inappropriate to play cricket at this time,” chief executive David White told TVNZ.

AOS (Armed Offenders Squad) push back members of the public following a shooting at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, March 15, 2019. REUTERS/SNPA/Martin Hunter

“It’s quite unbelievable really. We are shocked.”

White said he had spoken to the liaison officer with the Bangladesh team and the players were “shocked”.

“Arrangements are being made for the return of the Bangladesh team home as soon as possible,” NZC said in a statement.

Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal said on Twitter the experience had been “frightening”.

“Entire team got saved from active shooters!!! Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers,” he wrote.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who missed the first two tests through injury, said the team had been fortunate to avoid the shooting.

“SHOCKED AND APPALLED”

Violent crime is extremely rare in New Zealand and White said Friday’s incident would “greatly affect” the country.

“It’s obviously early days in a fairly fluid situation (but) it’s something that we as New Zealanders have to look at as well,” he said.

“We are shocked and appalled as I’m sure all New Zealanders are.”

Cricket teams have previously abandoned tours because of violent attacks but most had been in South Asia, including Bangladesh which Australia decided against touring in 2015 because of security fears.

Sri Lanka’s team bus was attacked by gunmen in Lahore during their tour of Pakistan in 2009. Six members of the team were wounded, while six security personnel and two civilians were killed.

Pakistan still host nearly all of their international matches in the United Arab Emirates due to ongoing security concerns.

“Pak suffered same situation years back n can feel n relate to the pain n misery,” Pakistan’s information minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Twitter.

New Zealand abandoned their 1987 tour of Sri Lanka following a bombing near their hotel in Colombo in which more than 100 people were killed.

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They also abandoned a tour of Pakistan in May 2002 following a suicide bombing outside their hotel in Karachi.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) led the cricketing world in sending their condolences to the families and friends of those affected by the “horrendous incident in Christchurch”.

“Both teams, staff and match officials are safe and the ICC fully supports the decision to cancel the test match,” chief executive David Richardson said.

Additional reporting by Colin Packham in Sydney, Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi and Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Editing by Peter Rutherford